Thursday

Ingredients (1 portion)

• 2 eggs
• 1 tomato
• 2 slices wholemeal bread
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 pinch black pepper

Method

1. Dice the tomato. Beat the eggs with the pepper in a jug. Put the bread in the toaster.
2. Heat the oil in a small non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Cook the tomato for 2 minutes, until it starts to break down.
3. Pour in the eggs and stir gently for 1 to 2 minutes, until softly scrambled. Pile onto the toast.

Why it is a healthy start

Eggs give protein that keeps you full, and cooking the tomato first makes it sweet and juicy, so the eggs need no sauce. Wholemeal toast adds fibre.

Swaps

A handful of spinach or a sprinkle of Cheddar. A grilled tomato on the side. Baked beans on the plate.

Ingredients (1 portion)

• 1 portion roast Mediterranean vegetables and butter beans, from Wednesday's dinner (kept in the fridge)
• ½ cube reduced-salt vegetable stock cube
• 300 ml hot water for the stock
• 1 tsp lemon juice (from a fresh lemon)
• 1 slice wholemeal bread, to serve
• 1 pinch black pepper

Method

1. Tip the roast vegetables and beans, with any oil and juices, into a medium saucepan. Dissolve the stock cube in 300 ml of boiling water and pour it over.
2. Bring to the boil, turn down the heat and simmer for 8 minutes, until everything is steaming hot all the way through.
3. Blend with a stick blender until smooth, or mash with a potato masher for a chunky soup. Stir in the lemon juice and pepper.
4. Toast the bread and serve with the soup.

Why it is a healthy lunch

The roasted vegetables give the soup a rich, sweet flavour, and the butter beans make it thick and creamy with protein and fibre, with no cream. It turns leftover dinner into a different meal in 12 minutes.

Swaps

A spoonful of Greek yoghurt swirled on top. A handful of spinach stirred in before blending. A pinch of chilli flakes.

Ingredients (2 portions)

• 250 g lean beef mince (5% fat)
• 1 onion
• 1 red pepper
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp mustard
• 200 ml hot water
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 wholemeal bread roll (for tonight)
• 1 carrot (for the slaw)
• 1 tbsp plain Greek-style yoghurt (for the slaw)
• 1 tsp lemon juice (from a fresh lemon)

Prep ahead (about 5 minutes, any time that day)

1. Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic. Cut the pepper in half, remove the seeds and chop it very small. Keep them in a covered container. Keep the raw mince on the bottom shelf of the fridge.

At dinner time (about 20 minutes, 12 of them hands-on)

1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the mince and cook for 5 minutes, breaking it up, until brown all over and no pink is left.
2. Add the onion and pepper and cook for 4 minutes, until soft. Stir in the garlic, paprika and tomato purée for 1 minute.
3. Stir in the honey, mustard and hot water. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until the sauce is thick and glossy and clings to the beef.
4. While it simmers, make the slaw: peel and grate the carrot and stir it with the yoghurt and lemon juice in a bowl.
5. Split and toast the bread roll. Pile half the beef mixture onto the roll and serve with the slaw.
6. Spoon the other half into a container and cool it, uncovered, for no more than 1 hour. Cover it and put it in the fridge. Tomorrow's lunch is made from it.

Why it is a healthy dinner

Lean mince with onion and pepper in a sauce made from tomato purée, mustard and a little honey, rather than a sugary bottled one. The roll is wholemeal, and the carrot slaw has yoghurt rather than mayonnaise.

Swaps

A jacket potato in place of the roll. Green cabbage in the slaw. Chicken mince in place of the beef.